Python Media Converters

Utilities to convert videos (to MP4 and WebM) and batch-convert images to WebP.

Requirements

• macOS (tested), Linux/Windows should also work
• Python 3.8+
• FFmpeg command-line tools installed (required for video conversion)
• Python packages from requirements.txt

Install FFmpeg (macOS)

# Using Homebrew
brew update
brew install ffmpeg

Verify:

ffmpeg -version

Setup

# From the project root
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

1 Video converter

Script: video_converter.py

Converts a single input video into:

• MP4 (H.264 video + AAC audio)
• WebM (VP9 video + Vorbis audio)

Outputs are saved under converted/.

Run:

python video_converter.py path/to/input_video.mov

Example:

python video_converter.py assets/convert/sample.mov

Notes:

• The script auto-creates converted/.
• Filenames are based on the input name, e.g. sample.mp4 and sample.webm.
• If you see an error about FFmpeg missing, install it with Homebrew (see above).

2 Image converter → WebP

Script: image_converter.py

Batch-converts images in a folder to WebP. Supported inputs: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .bmp, .tiff.

By default, it reads from assets/convert and writes to converted_webp/ with quality 80.

Run with explicit arguments:

# Usage: python image_converter.py <input_dir> [output_dir] [quality]
python image_converter.py assets/convert converted_webp 80

Or with no arguments (uses defaults):

python image_converter.py

Outputs are written to converted_webp/.

Project structure

image_converter.py       # Batch image → WebP converter
video_converter.py       # Single video → MP4 + WebM converter
assets/convert/          # Place sample inputs here (optional)
converted/               # MP4/WebM outputs (created automatically)
converted_webp/          # WebP outputs (created automatically)
requirements.txt         # Python dependencies

Troubleshooting

• ffmpeg: command not found

  • Install via Homebrew: brew install ffmpeg
  • Ensure it’s on your PATH: which ffmpeg

• PIL/Pillow or ffmpeg-python not found

  • Install deps: pip install -r requirements.txt

License

MIT (or your preferred license).